Crown mellower



Patented Sept. 9, 1947 Application .Septemhmf` 1, 1944, ,Serial-'Non 5523305? rclims. (o1. 2231-7? Y 1"' This invention relatesetcrferown .mellowersii It;- is-:partculrly directed; to au devicef for;y softening stiffness inf crowns. of; hats;

In thelhat making,proeessf,-. a stiieningsolution.

such ,asz-shellae. is. -appliedftd` thefhat so.l that the4 5 4.

crow-nwilL maintain la. desiredf shapedurling: use., Thepnesent machine-serves' toibreak .thevstiiness aroundftheheadlne or.the.bottom.of the crown to make. it .easierJ to .sewthe; sweatband andi-tire outside. lcand to .-th.=,.lf1atrV v An.y obj ectotthisI inventionA isnto, provideasde vice.; of... the character; described.- comprising-5 reilers adapted to engage opposite sides oftheorowm of. the.hai'a1'1d. rotatedA so. .thaty the hat-Willnotate and the ,shellac,. on other stifening; material-twill .Y 15

bebrokennpandthe crown mellowed-.orsotened- Anotherv object of thisinventionwisto provideM a device of.. the, character. described.l comprising-z atalel` omwhich a-.hat is. placed,4 a rotary. roller,

0n...tlfe.Italcle` adaptedlto projeetintof vtlf-1ey crown, 20

andganovablemember.holding rollers. adapted tecontact; the. outside of the. crown` to (press.A theY crownagainsttheinnen roller. Y

Ytanother object .of..,th`is..invention isftofpro vide a, devioe oftle=claracter.desoribednnwhich 25.

the rollers onA the.v outside:y of.. the. crown. are: mcuntedlonalever whicnisaeted onfby atspring. to pressthe roll'rs, againstthefcrown, and .saidA device havingmeans to .:retain.y thev lever., in: as

positionA where, the. rollers., thereon are f outs of; 30-

rwi'tl1"t,`he.' bearings'ZBjlZQL and 311i 30d. 22"

contactwithtlecrown.sottiatthe crown may bef. removed.'

Yet" a furtlfer. object of lthisv invention is tow provida strong, ruggedanddurablecroW-n Vmel-- lower offtle, charactersdescribedswhiehnshall be.. 35

inexpensive to manufacture, .ea-sy.to,.manipulate, and yetv practiCaL and .eflciennto` a high; degree in use.`

Other vobj ects.; ofethise imzention-` wil-lifinvpart be#l obvious.. and; .in part f*hereinaiterf pointednouu 'Ille-invention:accordinglyconsists ein the' feas turesso.: construction;,combinations'sof elemen'ts, i andzarrangement of parts 'wl'llicii willfbe. enema pliedimthecconstruetion lierei'nater described;vv andof which: the-scopeoiapplieation -wil-1"be-ir1' clicatedf"insr the-'followings claims:

the accompanying drawing",Y irr` which is shown 'various' possible illustrative" embodiments of this invention,

Fig? 1 is' a top pl'arrview ola crownmellwer.. emodying, the' invention; j

2s 3:.isea.f crosssectional.view. tekenen... line- 3-3 .oifEig-c .1;

Eig. 4, isya, cross-.sectionalview\takenondine.

Referring.. now; indetaillto thev drawing- Milli designates fa `Ycrown. ,Inellower or. breaker.. e= 1fnleody` ing.tllefinventfionn The. same,.comprises awtable ll. havingia tabletop, Iz. supported? onfeorner legs 1.311. 'Ilelgsll'mayhe reinferoedby.,liraees#V M Thetabl Il mayliave-atopwalL lfrmed with. dewnwardl'y` extending, front andil rear.- flanges Ilandl' LT andgsid' .anges I 8,

E'iXed to the underside of`r top, wall` L5. is. av lor-acliet 2lb.r The. bracket 20T may comprise. a. bracket-member 2J' Having atopwallllzi- -'Xedl to'the'gund'erside oflwall.'|`5a verticalwall 23gA and.. a horiZon'ta'Iwall 24, parallel..'tal wall`vr y1.22.-A lxed,- withinL bracket member l, is.. an. inner. bracliet-- member, 252."v Biacl'etmember Z5 comprises. averticalfwalllffparallel toA walLZja liori'zontalfarm 215 atli'ts'. upper endlcont'actin'g, andxed'jto. the undersideofiwallfor arm.. 22;. and anarm 2B`at' arm or wal1""24` with. vertically, aligned lfalf. 1kiearings Zand. 3B; to which are .attacled'complementary,lalf heariings 29u andl'SU'.; Top Wall' 1,5"is formedwitia vertical" through openings, 32?'X vertically aligned.

an'd 4fare'furthermore formed'witliopenin'gs 33" aligned with said"'b'earings and with. th'e l. opening""32.

Extending' through said" bearings gand."throu'gLltx".l the .openings 32 and.,33 is a vertical'shaftifpro.

pulley' wheel' 38m.'

'Pleffiont legs'offtlietablei l--`are Vp rovidedwitliU a pair-1 of-: parallel eros-sf;braeesf411E Mounted* thereon lis an: lelectric l motorJ 4 Il' having a vertical:-

aligned withpiley 38rian'd .interc'onnectedftlrereformingaapivot Bivotedon said;pivot.is.fahori .'zontalW lever.-y arm 511. overlying-y thez table:A` and; extending therebyond. Attaehezifv to oneendfof the arm .5u-is .anupwardlyi extending; handlef 5ft;

Attachedttoethemnderside:.charm .5119. is affplabea- 3 52. Fixed to said plate are a pair of spaced vertical pins 53. Rotatably mounted on the pins 53 are spaced rollers 54. The rollers 54 are so 1ocated that when arm 50 is rotated in a clockwise direction toward roller 36, the latter will t between and contact the rollers 54.

In the drawing H designates a hat such as a felt hat or a straw hat placed on the table with the brim 55 of the hat on the table and the crown 55 disposed between the rollers 3B and 54. When the motor is started and lever 50 is moved toward the hat, rotation of the roller 36 will cause the hat to rotate, thereby causing rotation of the rollers 54 and during this process the crown will be mellowed, that is the shellac, gum starch or other stifener at the base of the crown will be broken up and the crown softened. Rollers 54 will press the crown against roller 35 to cause the hat to rotate.

Spring means is provided to press the rollers 54 toward the roller 36. To this end there is xed to one of the anges I8 of the table top I2, an anchor pin 6B. On lever 5!) is a pin 6I disposed just beyond one side of the table. Interconnecting the pins 60 and 6I is a coil compression spring 52. It will now be understoodV that the spring 62 presses the rollers 54 toward roller 3S so that the crown is gripped between the rollers.

Means is provided to hold the rollers 54 away from roller 36 when the mellower is not in use. To this end there is xed on top of the table l2, and adjacent one side thereof, a bracket 10. Bracket 10 comprises a Z-shaped member 1l having an arm 12 contacting the top of the table and fixed thereto by screws or other fastening means 13. Member 1l also has an arm 14 disposed parallel to and spaced above the table top l2. Fixed to the top or arm 14 is a stop plate 15 terminating short of the rear end of arm 14. The pivoted arm D is adapted to contact the rear edge 16 of stop plate 15 and thereby being held in hat releasing position as shown in Fig. l of the drawing. In order to move the rollers 54 toward the hat, handle 5l is somewhat raised to disengage the pivot arm from the edge 16 of plate 15. Then the spring 62 is allowed to swing the pivoted arm in a clockwise direction so that the rollers engage the crown and rotate the hat.

Arm 14 is formed with a hole. Attached to plate 15 is a pin 15a projecting down through' said hole in arm 14. At the lower end of the pin is a head. Interposed between the head and the underside of arm 14 is a spring 15b. The spring 15b permits some iiexing of arm 14 relative to plate 15.

Means is provided to keep the crown 56 of the hat I-I upright and to guide the hat as the hat is rotated. To this end there is xed to the table top a pair 0f spaced headed screws 80. Screws 8U serve to clamp a guide member 8l to the table top. Member 8l may be made of heavy wire stock and has a pair of parallel arms 82 disposed on opposite sides of the screws 80 and held down by means of washers 83 pressed by the heads of the screws against said arms. Extending from arms 82 are upwardly inclined arms 85 interconnected by a vertical loop portion 81. The portion 81 contacts the inside of the crown at a point spaced from the portion engaged by the rollers. Said portion 81 is so located as to position the hat substantially on the table as it rotates under the influence of the rollers. l

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this inven- 4 tion are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A crown mellower comprising a stationary support for a hat, a roller on said support adapted to contact the inside of the crown of the hat adjacent its base, means to rotate the roller, a member movably mounted on said support, and

'a roller on said member, said second roller being movable toward the iirst-mentioned roller into engagement with the outside of the crown of the hat adjacent its base whereby to cause said hat to turn on said support.

2. A crown mellower comprising a mstationary support for a hat placed thereon, a roller on the support adapted to engage the inner side of the base of the crown of the hat placed on said support, a roller adapted to contact the outer side of the crown of the hat, and press the crown against the inner roller, means to rotate one of said rollers to cause the hat to turn and the other of said rollers to rotate as the hat turns, means to move one of the rollers away from and toward the other roller, and resilient means to press the rollers toward each other.

3. A crown mellower comprising a support for a hat placed thereon, a roller on the support adapted to engage the inner side of the base of the crown of the hat placed on said support, a roller adapted to contact the outer side of the crown of the hat, and press the crown against the inner roller, means to rotate one of said rollers, means to move one of the rollers away from and toward the other roller, resilient means to press the rollers toward each other, and means to maintain the rollers in separated condition.

4. A crown mellower comprising a table having a table top, a vertical shaft rotatably mounted on said table, and extending through the table top, a roller at the upper end of said Vertical shaft, and means on the table to rotate said shaft, a lever arm pivoted to the table and movable in a plane parallel to the table top and extending beyond one side of the table top, a handle on said lever arm, a bracket fixed to the lever arm, and a pair of rollers on said bracket, and adapted to be moved into contact with the first-mentioned roller.

5. A crown mellower comprising a table having a table top, a vertical shaft rotatably mounted on said table, and extending through the table top, a roller at the upper end of said Vertical shaft, and means on the table to rotate said shaft, a lever arm pivoted to the table and movable in a plane parallel to the table top and extending beyond one side of the table top,V a handle on said lever arm, a bracket xed to the lever arm, a pair of rollers on said bracket, and adapted to be moved into contact with the lrst-mentioned roller, and a spring interconnecting the lever arm and the table.

6. A crown mellower comprising Va table having a table top, a vertical shaft rotatably mounted on said table, and extendingthrough the table top, a roller at the upper endof said vertical shaft, and means on the table to rotate said shaft, a lever arm pivoted to the table and movable in a plane parallel to the table top and eX- tending beyond one side of the table top, a handle on said lever arm, a bracket fixed to the lever arm, a pair of rollers on said bracket, and adapted to be moved into contact with the first-mentioned roller, a spring interconnecting the lever arm and the table, and a bracket xed to the table top and adapted to engage the lever arm to maintain the pair of rollers away from the rst-mentioned roller.

'7. A crown mellower comprising a support for a hat placed thereon, a roller on the support adapted to engage the inner side of the base of the crown of the hat placed on said support, a roller adapted to contact the outer side of the crown of the hat, and press the crown against the inner roller, means to rotate one of said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,148,153 Eichenbaum Feb. 21, 1939 702,854. Eaton June 17, 1902 1,762,557 Miller June 10, 1930 

